My greatest joy as the ATN’s project manager is when I’m in the company of the children and families who are being served by our network. These opportunities don’t come often enough, as our 14 centers are spread across the US and Canada – and I’m based here in Los Angeles. So the day Maureen Dillon invited me to Latino Families Day, at our center in Santa Ana, California, I immediately cleared my weekend schedule. Read more here.

“Most adults with autism live with their families long into adulthood, and for many families they’re very concerned about who will take care of their adult children with autism once they’re no longer able to do that,” Autism Speaks Executive V.P. of Programs and Services Lisa Goring told the The Star. Read more.

One Autism Speaks initiative to help meet the needs of the growing number of adults with autism is the House to Home Prize. The organization is seeking groundbreaking ideas from around the world on ways to expand housing and residential support options for adults on the spectrum that will allow them to live as independently as possible. The total prize purse is $150,000. Learn more.

Lucia Morris, a high school freshman and Girl Scout, transformed her middle school's two-swing playground into a sensory-friendly experience for kids with autism. The new playground has a therapeutic hammock, a sand table, and a musical dinosaur. Read more here.

On Nov. 10 at 7pm, participating AMC theatres, in partnership with the Autism Society, are showing a sensory-friendly screening of "Spectre," the newest film in the James Bond franchise. Read more and get tickets here.

"I realized that being an autism mom meant that I still needed to make time for date nights with my husband and girls nights out. It's also meant nurturing my relationship with my daughter away from her brother," writes Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer. Read more at Philly Parenting.